MSU Lady Bears Overcome Second Half Deficit; Defeat Towson, 69-63

BALTIMORE, Maryland  --  Tracey Carrington scored 30 of her career- and game-high 35 points in the second half to lead Morgan State to a 69-63 come-from-behind victory over crosstown rival Towson on Wednesday evening at Hill Field House.

The Lady Bears (2-7), who trailed 30-24 at the intermission and by as much as 12 points in the second half, ended their five-game losing skid with the win, while also avenging last season's four-point loss at Towson.

Carrington, who shot just 1-for-7 in the first half, finished 8-for-19 from the field and connected on 18-of-19 from the free throw line. The Baltimore native also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Danielle Forrest added 11 points on 3-for-4 shooting all from three-point range.

Towson (5-5), which was making its first trip to Hill Field House since the 2003-04 season, was led by Tanisha McTiller, who recorded a double-double with a team-high 20 points and 12 rebounds. McTiller also added team and game highs in assists with six and steals with two. Dominique Johnson added 18 points, while Nyree Williams had a game-high three blocks and tied McTiller with a game-high 12 rebounds to help the Tigers outrebound Morgan State, 51-35.

The Lady Bears faced a 48-36 deficit after a layup by McTiller gave the visiting Tigers a 12-point lead with 11 minutes remaining in the game. That's when Morgan State began to put things together, scoring 18 consecutive points in the midst of a 22-2 run a little under six minutes to take a 58-50 lead with 5:14 to play.

Towson would get within three points on three separate occasions, the last coming at 66-63, following a layup by Johnson with 21 seconds remaining. But the Tigers would get no closer, as Morgan State, whose final 13 points of the game all came at the free throw line, sealed the deal at the line with three more for the win.

The Lady Bears finished the game shooting 26-of-29 (89.7 percent) from the charity line, while Towson was 12-of-25 for 48 percent at the free throw line.

Morgan State will be off for 10 days for the Christmas break, before heading to Coral Gables, Fla. to take on host Miami in the opener of the Miami Holiday Classic (Dec. 28-29). The Lady Bears and host Hurricanes will tip-off at 1 p.m. on Saturday and will either meet Western Carolina or New Mexico on Sunday at either 1 or 4 p.m. All games will be played at the BankUnited Center.

Box Score

By Kevin Paige, MSU Athletics Media Relations
COURTESY MORGAN STATE UNIVERSITY SPORTS INFORMATION